19th May 2017
This week I’m delighted to introduce our first guest blogger, Cicely Roche. I met Cicely, an esteemed pharmacy colleague, for coffee last week. During our conversation she mentioned that she was following my blog and that she was interested in figuring out how she might start blogging herself, particularly in light of an upcoming trip to Ontario which was bound to stimulate new learning. The problem was she didn’t have anytime to figure out how to set it up in advance of her trip.
Naturally, given my interest in blogging, learning and pharmacy, I was delighted to hear this and suggested that she could start by blogging through reflections.ie as a guest blogger until she got herself set up. It would enable her to dip a toe in the blogging water without having to set anything up immediately. She was happy that this would get her started and I was happy to help her on her journey.
Therefore, I am delighted to introduce Cicely Roche as our first guest blogger and her blog can be read here. I’m looking forward to reading about her experiences in Ontario.
This interaction prompted me to reflect on the new types of conversations that I have been having with people since I started blogging. Some people have shared their interest in writing with me and have even sent me excerpts of their writing, which are always lovely to receive. Others have contacted me to discuss the topics about which I have written. A few have provided tips and suggestions and have pointed me in the direction of writing festivals and web-sites which could help me develop my writing skills. I’m now attracting conversations about topics I really adore and the ironic fact is that, quite often, I’m having these new conversations with people I have known for years but with whom these topics never arose. Some have even revealed other personas that they use for the purposes of writing. In all the time that I was thinking about blogging and dithering over whether it was a silly idea or not, I was surrounded by people who had similar interests and ideas. These people are connecting with me now that they see me acting in this space. This leads me to the idea that you attract what you are, not what you want.
Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you could simply attract what you want? Rather inconveniently the world around you reacts to who and what you are, not who and what you want to be. Ghandhi is often quoted as saying “Be the difference you want to see in the world”. Notwithstanding the fact that this is apparently not quite what he said (see here for the accurate quote), my reflection on the last week has led me to understand how true the sentiment is.
Reflection time
Is there anything you can learn by reflecting on this? Are there ways that you can proactively move closer to the things you want? My first blog, What’s stopping you?, might help you reflect on how you could do this. Whilst the first steps might be daunting it is very rewarding to see the universe respond! (without wishing to sound too philosophical!)
Finally, is blogging something that you would like to try? I’m delighted to help people get started if they’d like dip their toe in the water here. Just get in touch and let me know if you’d like to give it a shot. There’s always the option of writing under a pseudonym if that feels easier.